Aligarh’s Jama Masjid constructed on temples site, states petition in court

An RTI activist has filed a petition in a Civil Court in Aligarh, alleging that the Jama Masjid in the city was constructed on the site where Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu temples once existed. The claim is based on responses to queries filed under the Right To Information (RTI) Act with various government departments, including the Aligarh Municipal Corporation.

Civil Judge Gajendra Singh ordered on Monday that the case would be heard on February 15, according to Pandit Keshav Dev Gautam, the activist behind the petition. Gautam said, "I have been filing queries with several government departments regarding the origins of Jama Masjid, which, according to historical records, was constructed in the early 18th century."

The mosque is situated in the Upper Kot area, a densely populated, Muslim-majority locality in the old city. Gautam claims that one of the RTI responses from the Aligarh Municipal Corporation indicates the mosque was "built on public land without government approval." Citing this information, he has approached the court to declare the existing Jama Masjid management committee "illegal."

According to a copy of the petition, which bears the stamp of the oath commissioner and was accessed by PTI, the petitioner has sought government takeover of the mosque site.

This comes even after the Supreme Court last month instructed courts nationwide not to entertain or pass orders in new suits seeking surveys of mosques to determine if temples exist beneath them. Additionally, the court restrained lower courts from issuing orders in existing cases concerning such disputes, effectively halting surveys pending further directions.

The apex court’s directive came as it heard pleas challenging the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which aims to preserve the religious character of all places of worship as they were at the time of Independence, with an exception for the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya. Petitioners argue that the Act violates the fundamental rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to reclaim places of worship destroyed during historical invasions. 

(With PTI inputs)